Should Have Seen This Coming
by a rather slytherin gryffindor
Summary: Harry should have known that dying wouldn't stop Dumbledore from meddling with his life. The ring tattooed around his finger felt so heavy…almost as heavy as the hateful glares his new bondmates were shooting at his back. SSxDMxHP. SLASH.
1. Stupid Twinkle

**Hello my duckies. I'm back! Sort of. Here's a story that has been nagging at me for a while now, and I just had to get it started. I will also be returning to work on my other stories- my apologies for being away for so long. Life happened.**

**WARNING**: This will be a slash fic. As in, lovely man on man snogging and angsting and just general smexiness. I don't think that this will end up delving too deeply into the realm of the graphic, but there will be (eventual) sexual themes. Thus, its "M" rating. You have been duly warned.

**DISCLAIMER**: Do not own. Have never owned. If I did, I would not have joined the military to pay the bills. Cheers.

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He hadn't planned his life to be like this. Nobody had…well, maybe Dumbledore had, but seeing as the meddling old man never explained that weird twinkle in his eye, they couldn't be sure. Anyway, he was dead now, so what he thought and planned were no longer of any consequence. Or at least, they shouldn't have been. Yet here Harry was, sitting in the office of the Minister of Magic alongside two of the people who despise him most in the world, listening in shocked disbelief to recently discovered "secret" will of one Albus whatever whatever whatever Dumbledore.

Apparently, at some point directly prior to the man's death, he had contacted Fudge and entrusted to him an amendment to his will that was to be passed on after the news of his death had died down. Of course, Fudge, being the complete idiot that he was, managed to shove this potentially critical document in some filing cabinet somewhere, and then promptly forgot about it. There it sat, apparently collecting dust, for several years before the new Minister, (a much more efficient and reliable Kingsley Shacklebolt) unearthed it during a flurry of spring cleaning. When he had first heard the news of the oversight, Harry had been livid…but sitting here now, with the words Kingsley had just read still hanging heavily in the air, he couldn't help but wish that the damned thing had never been found. No doubt sensing the impending explosion, Kingsley stood, muttered something about leaving them to discuss in private, and then hurried out of the room at an impressive speed. Stillness reigned in his wake.

The stunned silence was finally broken by a sharp hissing sigh from the man to his right, which was immediately followed by an outburst of cursing from the room's final occupant. Snape, Harry noted, was sitting as still and rigid as death. If it weren't for the tight line his lips were pressed into, his white-knuckled grip on the arms of his chair, or the rage burning in those dark eyes, he might have passed for a statue. Harry wasn't even sure that the man was breathing. Malfoy, on the other hand, was nothing but movement and life and noise. He had risen rather violently from his chair at this point, and was angrily pacing the office, cursing and intermittently kicking furniture. Harry noted, with a sort of clinical detachment, that one of the scuff marks he left on the wall looked a bit like the sorting hat. Several long, tense moments passed before Malfoy seemed to run out of creative threats on the minister's life and finally turned his attention to Harry. He crossed the room in three long strides, and placed himself scant inches from Harry's chair with his arms crossed angrily across his chest. Slowly, Harry looked up at him…_when had he gotten so tall?_...and waited quietly for whatever Malfoy decided to dish out.

Snape had moved finally- turning to watch them but still not saying a word. Harry supposed that he should feel some of the anger that the two men were clearly displaying. He should probably feel indignant and defensive because they were clearly going to find some way to blame him for this. The thing was, Harry didn't feel much of anything. Everything was still whirling, and the realization that his life was once again not his own had left him feeling numb. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say, really. Snape could glare all he wanted, and Malfoy could rant at him until he went hoarse, but it wouldn't matter. There was nothing that they could say or do to change what had been done. It was all, somehow, perfectly legal and binding. Within the next 24 hours the three of them would have to be bonded…and then they would be stuck together. Forever. For better or for…well, most likely for worse.


	2. The Cowardly Lion

**Annndddd...here's the next chapter. Don't worry, the answers to all of your questions are going to come soon. **

**All the same warnings and disclaimers apply.**

**Enjoy.**

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Malfoy was breathing heavily, his skin flushed red with anger, his hands clenched and his eyes boring holes into Harry's head. Harry met those angry eyes for a moment, then sighed and buried his face in his hands. It was really too much to process right then, and he really couldn't deal with Malfoy's harsh words and Snape's even harsher glares. He just couldn't do this right now. Hell, he didn't know if he would ever be ready to do this…he pushed his palms into his eyes in an attempt to hold off his growing headache. Malfoy made a noise deep in his chest that sounded suspiciously like a growl, and Harry jerked his head up in surprise. He focused on Malfoy's mouth, which was opening in preparation to release some cutting remark, and all of his usual Gryffindor courage fled him. An instant later, he was in his flat, the sharp crack of apparition still ringing in his ears. He could only imagine the mockery he will face the next time he sees the two Slytherins, but he refused to think of it as running away. He was just…regrouping. Recollecting his thoughts…_right_.

He threw himself facedown onto his couch, and spent long moments simply trying to breathe through his rising panic. He knew that the three of them needed to talk. They would be bonded by tomorrow evening, and they were going to need to figure out how on earth they were supposed to live with each other. Then again…they would have the rest of their lives to talk. _Godric_…Harry chocked back a hysterical giggle. _Sweet Merlin, the rest of their lives…_

Loud knocking at his door jerked Harry awake, and it took him a moment to get his bearings. _When had he fallen asleep_? Rubbing at the reddened impressions his couch pillows left on his face, he got up and shuffled to the door. It wasn't until he opened it and saw Snape and Malfoy standing on the other side that the day's events caught back up to him. There was one long, tense moment where they stared at each other –Malfoy's hand was still poised in the air to knock again- and then Harry slammed the door shut and cast every locking charm he knew. The banging started again immediately, and this time it was accompanied by Malfoy making threats to blast down the door if he didn't get his "cowardly arse back out here you Gryffindor ponce!" He hesitated, but when Snape's coldly quiet voice cut through the blonde's rant with a firm "Mr. Potter. Open this door." Harry found his feet backing him away. The next thing he knew he was standing before his fireplace, with floo powder in his hand and his heartbeat thudding in his ears. His last thought before he stepped in and whirled away to Ron and Hermione's place, was that this time…this time he was definitely running away.

An enraged Draco drew his wand, blasted the damn door open, and stalked inside. _When he got his hands on that speccy git he would_…He entered the living room just in time to see the flames in the grate die down and return to their original color.

"DAMMIT!" He screamed, kicking the grate and then throwing himself dramatically down onto the couch. Severus, who had been watching his little fit from the doorway, flicked his wand at the couch and then watched with satisfaction as the furniture proceeded to dump Draco on the floor. He yelped, shot Severus a glare, and then turned his angry gaze back to the fire.

"He ran away, Sev'rus. Again. What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

The potions master sighed and finally stepped into the room. He stationed himself next to the mantel and began to casually peruse the collection of photographs and knickknacks Potter had collected there. His tone once he began to speak, however, was anything but casual.

"What we do, Draco, is exercise patience and refrain from throwing fits like children."

He shot a baleful look at the blonde's position sprawled dramatically across the floor, causing him to flush in shame.

"We wait, here. No doubt the foolish boy has gone running off to one of his simpering friends in search of pity and coddling. Were we to attempt to follow him, we would be bogged down in a sea of misdirected Gryffindor boorishness, and our errant Mr. Potter would undoubtedly slip away again."

He sneered at a photo of a laughing Potter draped over Mr. Weasley and the former Ms. Granger, now the newest member of the Weasley clan. _To be saddled with such children…damn you Albus!_

"Even the Chosen One cannot escape this particular commitment. He will have to return here prior to the bonding ceremony, and when he does…"

Draco perked up as Severus trailed off. "…we put him in a full-body bind and make the fool listen?"

The corner of the potions master's mouth curled up, which for him was the equivalent of an indulgent smile. "Precisely."

When Harry landed on the rug in front of his oldest friend's fireplace, he was babbling about Slytherins and doddering old fools and swearing about the unfairness of the Universe in general. To their credit, Ron and Hermione never even batted an eye, despite the fact that his unexpected arrival interrupted their dinner. Hermione immediately guided him over to the couch, and Ron went to get the firewhiskey. Harry downed his first glass in one swallow. Ron wordlessly handed him another. After a few bracing breaths, Harry turned to meet their concerned gazes.

"Okay…this is what happened…"


End file.
